Attitude

People often ask me if I am really positive most of the time or is it just a facade. The truth is that I am usually always positive, especially in the face of adversity. Without our participation conflict cannot exist. It's like drama, it doesn't just show up in your life, you either invite it, create it, or associate with it. When I think about all this, which I do all the time, it reminds me that I should always be positive.

Several years ago when I was going through cancer treatment I had the honor and privilege of meeting people in the same battle. I was amazed then as I am now by how positive and filled with hope and love these people are. They set aside the pressures of life and the desire for material possessions so they could focus on living. We smiled, we laughed, we cried, we shared, but most of all we lived in the moment. Of the literally hundreds of people I met on my journey I never met a single one that had a terrible bitter outlook on life.

If we slow down for a few minutes and absorb the things that frustrate us we just might find out that in the big picture it doesn't matter anyway. I will never forget a friend that I met in the radiation waiting room. We got to talking about politics, current events, and basically office gossip. She summed it all up with tremendous wisdom, she said "I just want to live life and bring smiles and hope to other people, everything else is just a distraction".

Is being positive all it's made out to be? It sure is too me and people fighting for their life. Think about this, if you are facing an unfortunate life issue, don't you think the outcome would be infinitely better if you faced with a positive attitude and not a negative one? A positive attitude really does change everything. It starts a chain reaction inside your body that heals from the inside out. We can never live a positive life with a negative mind and that is a choice we have to make everyday.  If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

Another wonderful person I met on my journey through cancer shared some amazing wisdom with me. She told me that all the things she thought were important all the sudden didn't matter at all. What mattered was how much living she could do while she was alive. You see so many people spend to much time merely existing and not enough time living. It should never be our motive to get people to see things our way. When we do it usually ends in disappointment and frustration. Instead we should learn to love people and respect them as individuals even though they may be different. Whether you are male, female, gay, straight, rich or poor we will all face obstacles in life that will challenge our attitude. With a well formed conscience we can build bridges within ourselves and keep the walls down. When we can do that internally bridges just seem to get built around us externally.

Do I think positive living is important? Absolutely without a doubt. I, like you, face what seems like insurmountable odds at times, but I try hard to always remember that this too shall pass. If you find yourself always being down or seeing the bad in everything I highly encourage you to change your focus. When you allow yourself to see the good in yourself, others, and the world around you miracles begin to happen.

God bless
Dale